The present invention is directed to a safety device for vehicles in general and for school buses in particular.
Throughout the United States, many laws have been passed concerning safety measures for school buses and safety measures concerning school buses in relation to traffic. The school bus is painted a distinctive color, it includes a sign or signs which say "school bus" and it is provided with lights which flash when the bus is stopped to take on or discharge passengers. All of these features serve as warning signals to other drivers to be careful of children in the area who may be running to or from the bus. From time-to-time, buses have been provided with other safety features in an effort to cut down on the high number of injuries involving school buses. Despite all of the safety measures which have been adopted, many school bus related injuries continue to occur throughout the nation. The most serious of these injuries are a result of students being run over by the bus as the bus approaches or departs from a bus stop. These injuries occur when the student falls or slips in front of one of the wheels of the bus as it is arriving at or leaving from the school bus stop. Because of the weight of the school bus, a student who is run over by the wheels of the bus is either killed or severely maimed.
In the past, guards have been applied to motor vehicles including buses. The guards of the prior art are either permanent structures or structures which are designed to remain in an active position during operation of the motor vehicle. The later guards comprise complex structures which can be either removed from the motor vehicle or moved to an inactive position when the motor vehicle is not in operation, for example, when it is necessary to repair the motor vehicle. In each case, the step of changing the guard from the active position to the inactive position or vice versa, requires manipulation of mechanical elements while the motor vehicle is stopped. In order for the guard to be effective, it must be in the active position when the motor vehicle is in use. The presence of a guard or guard system makes the motor vehicle unattractive. Since the guard must, by necessity, be close to the road surface, it is subject to damage. Because of the many problems which are associated with these guards for motor vehicles, guards have never been accepted by the public. The difficulties experienced with the prior art guards for vehicles have been obviated by the present invention.
It is, therefore, the principle object of the invention to provide a guard for a school bus which can be selectively activated during operation of the bus.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a guard for a school bus which is mounted on the bus so that it can be selectively moved between an active position and an inactive position and the movement of the guard is subject to automatic control and manual control by the operator of the bus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a guard for a school bus which can be selectively activated while the bus is moving or while it is stationary.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a guard for a school bus which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.